Saturday Solace: Love

Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." - Matt 22:37-40, NKJ

Sometimes loving your neighbor (who could be a family member, friend, co-worker…anyone you come into contact with) is difficult. You may feel frustration or anger, annoyance or even contempt. These feelings shut out love. 

 Even if someone is acting contrary to the love of God him or herself, we are still called to love. And pure love is not based on conditions—for God loves us in spite of our disobedience, our selfishness, any sins we have committed (or will commit), and the most glaring weaknesses we have.

 In the story of The Prodigal Son, some may identify with the older brother—I mean, was it fair to give the younger son all that special treatment after all the bad stuff he did? Perhaps not. But it was just. Embracing his returned son as a loving father and allowing him to start anew was the right thing to do. Love, expressed and lavished, made all the difference in that boy’s future—you can count on it.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. – Romans 13:8, NIV

And so it is with us. Love is not wasted—it is an extension of a relationship with Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Law. 

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. –Matthew 5:17, ESV

Sometimes love breaks the rules. When the human mind dictates that distancing or “temporary rejection” would make more sense, God, who is Love, gives us a higher calling. God, in His all-knowing wisdom, challenges us to catch a glimpse with Him of what it’s like to walk in love. To be doers of His Word in the way we choose to love others.

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. –Romans 13:10, NIV

Love is not based on rules, how we feel at the time, or what seems logical. It’s based on what the heart of God would do—and so it is a much higher law than any we may have previously ascribed to. Jesus acted in perfect love throughout His life and even to the point of death. That is the kind of love we are called to. The love we give is actually a measure of God’s work being fulfilled in us.

…if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. – I John 4:12b, NET

Love isn’t always easy, but it is a privilege and identifies us with God, who is the author and manifestation of it. 

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:35, NIV